DUNCAN BARKES Now is the time to put local issues first, not to aid the party

Published:09:30Monday 23 April 2012

You are no doubt aware of George Galloway’s recent victory in the Bradford West by-election.

Galloway thrashed the favourite Labour candidate to take the seat at a time when trust in the main three political parties is at an all-time low.

Political pundits have suggested Galloway’s success was partly due to voters craving an alternative to modern-day politics.

They could well be right. Which is why I am considering entering the political arena.

I believe people have become exasperated with politics, both nationally and locally.

From the MPs’ expenses scandal to the empty promises and U-turns that all the major parties are guilty of, many of us have had enough.

The time is ripe to give politics a long overdue poke with a pointy stick.

So, thinking locally, would there be sufficient support to shake up the system, I wonder?

We have elections scheduled for 2013 for seats on West Sussex County Council and, if the coalition government managed to stick together until then, a general election scheduled for 2015.

As I see it, part of the problem is that politicians are tied to major political parties.

There are exceptions, but councillors and MPs mostly have to toe the party line and so can rarely be truly independent thinkers; their decisions are almost always based on what’s best for their party.

I am pondering the possibility of creating a new political entity that puts the Chichester constituency above any other consideration.

Under the working title of Chichester First, councillors would be free of the tarnish and ties of the main parties.

Entirely focused on the good of the area, nobody would be distracted by attempts to achieve personal political ambitions.

If there is support for such an approach, and one or two seats could be gained in 2013, then it would be logical to consider fielding a candidate to contest the Chichester constituency in the General Election of 2015.

The candidate would stand on a platform that was unashamedly committed to going into bat for the city and its neighbouring villages, free from party political influence.

This would include protecting local social and health services from funding cuts, ensuring that improvements to the A27 Chichester bypass actually take place, providing effective opposition to house building on greenbelt land and a solid commitment to the people of Selsey and the Witterings on the on-going issue of coastal protection.

Would such a party get your support? Or are you happy to continue voting for parties whose integrity and effectiveness are increasingly discredited?